Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-05-19
A BRITON's REVENGE.
Captain Dobson's Way of "Getting
Even with a Pirate.

Even" with Pirate.
That good brig, the Mary Jane, of
Sunderland-of which vessel I had the
honor to be second mate-having duly
delivered her cargo of Goals at the Aus
trian port Trieste, departed thence in
ballast, and shaped her course for
Taganrog, a Russian port on the Sea
of Azof. This same Taganrog is a
pretty large town and famous grain
port. The worst of tits, however, that
during at least two-thirds of~the year
it is frozen up, so that such vessels as
arrive there late in the season run a
great risk ofabecoming e-bound dur
ing the swhole of the long and dreary
winter.
The Mary Jane did not grapple to
Azof mud until the third or fourth of
October, and at the end of that month
the ice generally begins to set in. We
lay.Swith other vessels. at distance Of
twenty miles from the shore In fact.
fTaganrog itself was not in sight, and
wesonly knew of 1our posi- ton by seeing
all along the coast, far as the eye could
reach. the various craft moored here
and there about the extended anchor
age. The position of the port was in
dictated by the lighthouse on a nasty
reef of rocks, and by range of high
hills in its immediate vicinity, though.
rs q rule, the great extent of shallow
water terminated at an almost level
beach of low. muddy, marshy land.
Our captain was tall hot tempered.
xioned North-country-
man, and being naturally anxious TO
escape freezing delay of nine mon tbs.
made many raids upon the peace and
quiet Of the slow-going, even-temDered
agent he had selected-for he owned
the Mary Jane himself r~,.
5 M. Petroplopsky, the gentleman re-
ferred to, lived in large house, in a
street with perfectly unpronouncea-
bic. even unspellable name. which
formed the seaward view of Taganrog.
Large, fat lighters are used to load
the shipping at the distant anchorage,
and half-a-dozen of them had brought
US off half cur .cargo,~when bad wealth
Ell came on, and for one whole day no
signs of lighter could be seen. This
made the captain mighty wroth, and
at daylight on the following morn he
came into my berth, reused me from
my sleep, and roared rather than said:
Come. turn out, Mister! Get the
long-boat rugged. and ready for a trip
to the shore. : Not a lighter in sight.
That Internal son of a sea-cook of an
agent means to have us frozen in here
The does, sir, by Jehosophat. he
In response to my commanders
hail. quickly sprang from my narrow
little bunk, was dressed in few mo-
ments, and then set to work at execut-
inc his orders. In a vessel such as
the Mary Jane there are seldom more
cats than. can. catch mice, SO only q
boy could be spared to Join me in COM
$ posing the long-boat' crew. The
hands looked rather doubtful and sur
prised when 1 turned them out to get
the boat alongside. make ready her
sails, fill up her. water-beakers. and
stow small supply of provisions in
the stern sheets, for the weather had a
very lowering and threatening appear
ance-s sss.a ss4s a. 4 49,
However, / knew that nothing could
shake the .old man determination
when once he had made up his mind. So
I did mot say any thing, but quietly
put couple OF life-buoys in the boat.
After snatching a hurried breakfast,
the captain, myself and the boy en-
tered the boat, made sail and set off for
the shore. ...-,
During the last two or three days it
had been blowing pretty heavy gale.
but since thelast, sunset the wind had
greatly MODERATED and the sea had
gone down. So, in spite of the threat
ening appearances, we made rapid
progress before stiff, fair breeze. As
we passed the lighthouse at distance
of less than a quarter of a mile, IT was
with no little astonishment that we be-
held a female form upon the balconysat
its summit, gazing out upon the storm,
with her long hair streaming on the
blast However. the old gray light
house and its strange tenant were soon
out of sight astern. In less than four
hours we were safe alongside the quay,
and Captain Dobson rushed fiercely off
toward the unhappy. agents house.
Scarcely. however. had he stepped
ashore. when down came the full fury
of the gale, and for several hours the
storm fiend did his worst, reyeling in
the lightning and thunder, the furious
blastand the angry sea- Us ss
Toward evening the gale began to
moderate and the aspect of the
heavens was such as to indicate that